JOHNSON CITY (October 28, 2013) – People who suffer from tinnitus can get information about how best to manage the hearing disorder during a support group meeting that will be held at Johnson City Community Health Center (JCCHC) on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Dr. Marc Fagelson, a professor of audiology at East Tennessee State University and an authority on tinnitus, will lead the support group and collaborate with students in the Academic Health Sciences Center at ETSU. This free support group meeting will be held from 6-7 p.m. in the large classroom at JCCHC, located 2151 Century Lane behind Woodridge Hospital.

People who suffer from tinnitus experience a sound that has no apparent external cause. The sounds range widely from person to person in persistence, volume and the type of sound, though reports of a noise characterized as a “buzz,” “pulse” or insect-like “chirping” are common.

There is no cure for tinnitus, but there are management and coping strategies that will be discussed in support group meetings, Fagelson said. ETSU students working under faculty supervision at the support group meeting are part of an interprofessional education pilot program at the university.

For planning purposes, patients who plan to attend the meeting are asked to register in advance by calling (423) 439-4583. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at (423) 439-8346.